southern covers

Southern Africa First Day Covers

Showcasing a private collection of Southern Africa first day covers to present.

Welcome to Southern Covers, a reference site dedicated to the first day covers (FDCs), postal history, and philately of Southern Africa. Here you'll find stamps, cachets, and postmarks issued by the Republic of South Africa and the former homeland states, brought together in one place for collectors, researchers, and anyone curious about this corner of stamp collecting.

This site showcases a private collection of South African first day covers gathered over the last century. Every FDC is catalogued individually, complete with its own photographs, cachet artwork, and postmark details, so you can explore the story behind each stamp up close.

Have a browse through the catalogue, and enjoy the journey through Southern African stamp collecting history.

New to First Day Covers? Read our guide to get familiar with the terms and history behind what you are about to see.

At a glance

256

covers catalogued

327

photos uploaded

~US$109.98

estimated value

See the full breakdown, by issuing authority, decade, category, theme, and more.

Cover spotlight

FISHING-FLIES CRAFTED IN TRANSKEI 1

This cover is postmarked on 15 January 1981 in Butterworth. It carries a set of five Transkei stamps, each depicting a fishing fly produced at the Butterworth fly factory as part of the territory's second fishing fly series. The Green Highlander featured on this cover was designed by a Mr Grant of Speyside in the late 1800s and remains regarded as one of the finest salmon flies still in use today, nearly a century after it was first tied.

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